Spinning ring and holder therefor



May 17. 1960 A. J. WAYSON ET AL 2,936,568

SPINNING RING AND HOLDER THEREFOR Filed Sept. 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l 74 56 INVENTOR-S ANDREW J. WAYSON and 3 ANGELO e. BUCCHIANERI BY YM 2o ATTORNEYS.

May 17, 1960 A. J. WAYSON ETAL 2,936,568

spnmmc RING AND HOLDER THEREFOR Filed Sept. 11. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ANDREW J. WAYSON and ANGELQ G. BUCCHIANERI United States Patent l SPINNING RING AND HOLDER THEREFOR Andrew J. Wayson, Needham, and Angelo G. Bucchianeri, Miliis, Mass, assignors to Merriman Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 11, 1957, Serial No. 683,316 17 Claims. (Cl. 57-120) This invention relates to spinning and twisting rings and is particularly concerned with spinning rings made of powdered metal. However, when the term spinning ring is used in the appended claims, it will be understood to include twisting rings.

Spinning and twisting rings of powdered metal have now gone into extensive use in the textile industry. In this type of ring suitable lubrication for the traveler is provided by the slow flow of oil through the pores of the ring. The rate of flow of oil through a spinning ring of powdered metal is dependent upon the oil viscosity which varies with the ring temperature.

When a spinning frame is started up after a period of non-use, the rings will be cold and the oil at such temperature flows very slowly, if at all, through the ring. As the temperature of the ring rises under the friction of the fast moving traveler, the oil is correspondingly warmed and flows more readily to the areas that are frictionally engaged by the traveler. When the ring finally reaches normal operating temperature the oil, being of suitable viscosity at this temperature, will flow through the ring at a rate to produce proper continuing lubrication of the traveler, thereby to reduce wear of the ring and traveler in the manner desired.

As can be seen from the foregoing explanation, proper flow of oil through the ring is not achieved until the ring has been heated by friction and the oil in the ring correspondingly warmed. If a thinner oil should be used which would flow properly through the ring when the ring is cold, then such oil would flow too rapidly when the ring had been heated to normal operating temperature. Therefore, it is customary when a single oil is used to use an oil of such viscosity and character that will not flow appreciably through a cold ring but will flow through a heated ring at the required rate. Performance can be improved through the use of two oils of diflerent characteristics which cooperate to provide proper lubrication over a wider temperature range.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it will be appreciated that if the body of the ring can be reduced in mass while still maintaining the proper dimensions for the traveler, such ring will rise to normal operating temperature more quickly than a ring of greater mass and hence oil can be induced to flow through the ring in a shorter period of time to produce the desired lubrication, thereby minimizing wear of the traveler and ring.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a vertical type spinning ring made of powdered metal, having normal dimensions where engaged by the traveler but of considerably reduced mass, thereby diminishing the time required to get the oil flowing properly therethrough.

As the mass of a vertical spinning ring of normal vet tical dimensions may be reduced by diminishing the area of the vertical cross-section it follows that special types of ring holders will be needed to properly support. the ring and atthe same time to be of adequate strength on their own account to withstand the forces incident in properly securing the ring to the holder in a manner which will not interfere with the movement of the traveler and which will eliminate any possibility of the ring slipping and rotating with respect to the holder.

Therefore, a further object of the invention is the provision of an assembly consisting of a ring holder and a vertical type spinning ring of powdered metal, the ring being cut away on its outer surface in such manner as to provide a suitable oil channel and a recess to receive the cooperating flange of the surrounding ring holder.

In order that a spinning ring of the type described may be inserted or removed from the cooperating holder, it is necessary that the holder be made either in two parts to be clamped about the ring or, if made of one piece, it must be split and of suflicient flexibility to be spread a proper distance for insertion or removal of the ring.

In providing a ring of the character under discussion, the traveler used therewith has ends which book over the top and bottom edges of the ring and extend an appreciable distance from the ring edges so that the traveler under the stresses of operation will not become detached from the ring. If the cut-away area of the ring is of large vertical dimension so that the vertical dimension of the flange of the holder extends upwardly and downwardly to positions close to the top and bottom of the ring, the ends of the traveler will, in some cases, of necessity extend to positions Where they overlap the upper and lower portions of the supporting flange. In such cases it is necessary that the combined horizontal dimension of the ring and the supporting flange when positioned therein be not in excess of the normal un-cut-away horizontal section of the ring so that there will be no interference by the supporting flange with the traveler. The flange of the holder in such construction is necessarily thin when it is considered that the normal maximum horizontal dimension of a vertical type spinning ring will range between .085" and .180. Since the flange must be tightly clamped about the ring to prevent: slipping of the ring therewithin, it has been found that if the unsupported upper and lower flanges of the holder overlie an oil opening in the ring of large vertical dimension there is danger of the flanges bending and possibly breaking under the compressive force applied when the split holder is drawn up tight about the ring by suitable clamping means. Therefore, to avoid breakage of the holder flanges, the invention further contemplates the inclusion in the cut-away exterior portion of the ring of a cylindrical outwardly extending rib of such dimension that as the holder is clamped about the ring, the rib will engage the holder intermediate the upper and lower flanges thereof to prevent further flange distortion while at the same time preserving an adequate oil channel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vertical type spinning ring with a maximum area of wall surface to which the oil supply may be applied. It is thought apparent that if oil is being supplied to a large surface which constitutes one side of a thin horizontal section of the ring, the oil will reach the wearing surfaceof the ring sooner as the ring temperature rises than would be the case if the oil channel surface were of less area.

The invention further contemplates the provision of an oil channel of novel configuration formed by the ring and holder which permits double the amount of oil to be supplied to the ring through the use of one or more conventional wicks, the ends of which are positioned in a conventional oil reservoir. In one form, the oil channel is of great enough vertical dimension to permit a wick to be wrapped around the ring twice with the convolutions touching. In another form, the convolutions may be separated by a circumferental rib that may also act as a support against flange collapse. The circumferential rib may also be utilized in an advanced form in which Patented May 17, 1960 oils of different characteristics are fed to the upper and lower channels by two wicks, each wick being supplied by a separate oil reservoir.

These and other objects of the invention will be understood more clearly as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vertical type spinning ring secured by a split holder which holder has associated therewith single or dual oil reservoirs, as preferred.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 and in which the circumferential oil groove in the ring does not overlap the flanges of the holder but is large enough to permit the wick to be wrapped around twice.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1 showing an oil groove of greater vertical dimen-v sion which overlaps the flanges of the holder. The ring in this disclosure includes a circumferential rib for providing two oil channels as well as assisting in supporting the holder flanges.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l in which the oil groove is of still greater dimension and the flanges of the holder are likewise increased a in vertical dimension to an extent where they are overlapped by the ends of the traveler. The ring includes the circumferential rib which provides two oil channels and which engages the interior of the holder to prevent collapse of the flanges when the holder is tightly clamped about the nng.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 with the reference numerals referring to the specie shown in Fig. 3 with the rib cut away to accommodate a single wick.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a ring holder 1, a vertical type spining or twisting ring 50, and a ring traveler 70. Holder 1 comprises a cylindrical body 2 having a lateral extension 4 provided with a cavity 6 adapted to function as an oil reservoir. The top of the reservoir 6 is sealed by a transparent cover 8 which is recessed in the top of extension 4 and secured in position by pins 10 that are force fitted into suitable holes pro vided at the corners of extension 4. Positioned in oil supply hole 11 of cover 1% is a button closure 16 having a flange 12 and a convex raised portion 14. The closure 16 is biased upwardly by a coil spring (not shown) to hold flange 12 tightly against the under side of the surrounding top surface. Additional oil is introduced to the reservoir by depressing the button 16 and inserting the spout of an oil can between the button and cover so that lubricant can flowfrom the can into the reservoir.

In order to facilitate attachment of the holder to the ring rail of a spinning frame, there are provided two oppositely located lateral extensions 18 whose bottom surfaces are flush with the under surface 20 of the bottom wall 22 of the oil reservoir 6. Extensions 18 are slotted as at 24 to accommodate screws 26, the heads of which function to fasten the ring holder to the ring rail of the spinning frame.

To the extent already described, the structure of holder 1 is already known to persons skilled in the art.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the circular body 2 is provided on its inside with a cylindrical wall 30 which has an upstanding cylindrical flange 32 and depending cylindrical flange 34. The inner vertical cylindrical surfaces of fianges 32 and 34 are flush with and form continuations of theiinner cylindrical wall 30. At a suitable point the body 2, wall 30 and flanges 32 and 34 are split to form two adjacent vertically disposed end faces 38 and 40. At these opposed ends holder 1 is provided with clamping means in the form of two laterally-extending lugs42 and 44 provided with suitable holes to receive the shank of a bolt 46. Anut 48 cooperates with the threaded shank to draw the-ends 38and 40 toward each other; The holder is constructed 'of a suitable non-porous metal having,;suflicient flexibility-mallow ends 38 and 40 to beseparated to the degree necessary to insert or remove Ring 50, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises a smooth interior cylindrical surface 52 and rounded top and bottom edges 54 and 56 which terminate in outer cylindrical areas 55 and 57. On its outside vertical surface ring 50 has a circumferential groove 58 whose depth is' approximately the same as the width of flanges 32 and 34 of the holder. The height of groove 58 is only slightly greater than the vertical dimension from the top of flange 32 to the bottom of flange 34. Accordingly groove 58 of the ring will snugly receive flanges 32 and 34 of the holder. A second circumferential groove 60 for supplying oil to the ring is formed in the base of groove 58. In this form of the invention groove .60 is about /3 as high as groove 58 and is located equidistant the top and bottom edges 54 and 56 of the ring. The purpose of groove 60 is to accommodate a wick 62, the ends 64 of which extend into the'oil supply in reservoir 6. Holder 1 is provided with a radially extending channel 66 which,

leads from reservoir 6 through the upper surface of body 2 and cylindrical wall 30 via short radial bore 68. Bore 68 opens directly into groove 60 of the ring.

As shown in Fig. 2, wick 62 has two courses, that is, it is wound around twice in groove 60 so as to completely fill the latter. The two courses are indicated at 60' and 60". This greatly facilitates thetransfer of lubricant from the reservoir to the ring; However, if more con-' venient, two separate wicks could be used, with the bore 68 and channel 66 large enough to take four ends as suggested by the dotted lines 64' in Fig. 1.

In the construction of Fig. 2, the ends 72 and 74 of traveler 70 terminate short of flanges 32 and 34 of the holder and, therefore, will not engage or be impeded by the unlubricated holder when in operation. The traveler is conventional and made of steel or nylon.

In assembling the parts, wick 62 is wound around twice,

in groove 60 and its ends inserted through bore 68' and channel 66 to drop into reservoir 6. It is to be noted that the top side of channel 66 is closed by transparent cover 8. Then with nut 48 removed, the ends 38 and 40 of the holder are separated far enough to permit ring 50 to be inserted in the holder with flanges 32 and 34 in-sup porting relation with groove 58. Thereafter nut 48 is replaced and tightened until ring 50 is incapable of shifting relative to the holder. Traveler 70. may be placed on the ring before or after the latter is secured to the holder. Then the assembly is secured to the ring'rail of a spinning frame by means of screws 26 and is ready for operation.

Figs. 3 and 5 illustrate a second form of the present invention. This species comprises holder 1 previously described and a ring which differs somewhat from ring 50. Ring 100 has a flange receivinggroove 102 identical with groove 58 but the oil groove comprises upper and lower grooves 104 and 106 in place of single groove 60 of Fig. 2. Each of the oil grooves 104- and 106 is of greater vertical dimension than groove 60 so as to accommodate a wick 108 larger in cross section than wick 62. The wick 108, if a single wick, is'wound around the'ring twice crossing from the upper groove 104 to the lower groove 106 through an opening in the circular rib- 114 that separates the two grooves.

If preferred, two wicks may be used, one in each groove with four ends extending into the oil reservoir. An ad-' vantage of using two wicks is that under certain conditions it'may be desirable to supply oil of one viscosity to" the'upper groove and of another viscosity to the other groove. By dividing the oilreservoir into two sections by a wall as indicated at 121'in Fig. 1 with a second filling 1 openingat'123 'similarto oil supply hole 11, oils of differ ...t ent viscosities may be placed in the two compartments 125 and 127 with the endsof one wickin one and the ends of the other wick in the other. 1

Grooves 104 and 106 having greater surface area facilitate transfer of oil from wick 108 to all parts of the ring. The rib 114 engages the inner surface 36 of the ring and thus acts to support the relatively thin portion 118 of the ring and also prevents flanges 32 and 34 from being broken as the holder is clamped about the ring.

When the ring is being placed in the holder, the ring is oriented so that slot 120 is in radial alignment with bore 68 in the holder. In this way the ends 122 and 123 of wick 108 may be inserted in opening 68 and drawn through groove 66 to reservoir 6. The sizes of bore 68 and groove 66 respectively are such as to readily accommodate the ends of wick 108.

Fig. 4 shows a third form of the invention. In this case holder 1' is exactly the same as holder 1 previously described except that its flanges 32' and 34' are longer than flanges 32 and 34. Locked to and supported by holder 1' is a ring 130 having a groove 132 which is just large enough to snugly receive flanges 32' and 34. Formed in the base of groove 130 are two grooves 134 and 136 separated from each other by a circular rib 138 corresponding to circular rib 114 of Fig. 3. This rib 138 acts to support a relatively thin portion 140 of ring 130 as well as to prevent bending and possibly breaking of flanges 132 and 134 as the holder is clamped to the ring. Rib 138 has an opening (not shown) corresponding to opening 120 of Fig. 5 to permit wick 142 to cross from groove 134 to groove 136. The latter grooves are larger than grooves 104 and 106 and, therefore, the wick 142 filling the grooves is even larger in cross section and has greater oil carrying capacity than wick 108 to apply the oil to the greater surface area that is available.

It is to be noted that in the form of Fig. 4 the flanges 32' and 34' extend beyond the free ends 72 and 74' of traveler 70. but since the outer vertical surfaces of the flanges are flush with the adjacent surfaces of the ring, action of the traveler is unimpaired. There is also sufficient clearance between the ends of the traveler and the body of the holder to permit the traveler to move up or down as wear occurs at the upper and lower edges 150 and 152 of the ring.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a vertical type spinning or twisting ring in which the circular flanges of the holder are recessed into the outer wall of the ring in such manner that the cross-sectional dimension of the ring and supporting flanges is the same as the normal cross-sectional dimension of the ring. In this way the exterior upper and lower portions of the flanges do not in any way interfere with the operation of the traveler. By varying the vertical dimensions of the oil groove or grooves and correspondingly varying the dimensions of the cooperating holder flanges it will be seen that we have provided a construction in which the available surface area of the ring against which oil may be applied may be predetermined and thus the rate at which oil is delivered to the working surface of the ring may be controlled.

It will be understood that in certain cases the flanges might be reduced to zero height provided the circular body portion would not interfere with the ends of the traveler, but in such case the oil groove would be correspondingly small. The flanges and large oil groove or grooves are preferred.

In those forms in which the vertical dimension of the oil grooves exceeds the vertical dimension of the body of the holder as in Figs. 3 and 4 so that the flanges engage the ring at flange areas which are unsupported and are therefore capable of being broken should the clamping means he set up too tightly, there is provided an intermediate circular rib of suflicient height to engage the inner wall of the holder body intermediate the flanges. Thus when the holder is clamped about the ring the rib provides a support which prevents the upper and lower flanges from being bent backwardly and possibly broken.

The intermediate circular rib on the ring also acts as a convenient means for providing upper and lower grooves in which the wick or wicks may be laid. When a single wick is used, it crosses from the upper to the lower groove as shown in Fig. 5 and one or both of the ends are positioned in the oil reservoir. When two wicks are used, the opening may be omitted as there is no cross over. All four ends will be placed in the reservoir. It is preferable that the wick or wicks substantially completely fill the oil grooves as shown in the several figures so that oil will be carried to all interior areas of the ring. Thus as the ring heats up from the friction of the traveler such heat will be quickly transferred through the thin face of the ring to heat the oil therein as well as the oil carried by the wick, lowering its viscosity and improving its ability to travel through the pores of the powdered metal ring, thereby to provide the required lubrication in a much shorter period than is currently possible in this art.

When oils of difierent viscosities are used through the utilization of two wicks and two reservoirs, improved results may be obtained since the lower viscosity oil will provide for initial low temperature lubrication while the higher viscosity oil comes more into play as the ring temperature rises.

It will also be noted that the ring can be very easily manufactured by turning it to the proper dimensions in a lathe. No special dies are required as the ring as originally made is in the form of a plain band of uniform thickness in which the flange receiving groove and oil grooves are readily machined.

Considering the normal thickness of a vertical type spinning ring, we have found that satisfactory results are obtained by having the ring wall thickness adjacent the oil grooves approximately Va of the total thickness of the ring. The oil grooves have a horizontal dimension of approximately /s of the ring thickness and the flange of the holder constitutes a final third. In this way, the elements when assembled form a structure in which there is adequate strength in the body of the ring to receive the. normal load applied. There is sufficient space in the oil groove or grooves to accommodate a wick of proper dimension while at the same time providing the desired wall area for proper transmission of sufiicient oil, and finally the flanges of the holder are of sufficient horizontal dimension to withstand the required clamping action of the holder about the ring, particularly when supported by the circular intermediate rib of the ring.

It is our intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A spinning ring assembly comprising a split ring holder having an oil reservoir and a traveler-guiding spinning ring of rigid, oil transmitting porous material, said ring having a first circumferential groove thereabout and disposed in vertical interlocked and coaxial relation with said holder, the surface of said ring adjacent said holder and intermediate the top and bottom walls of said first groove having a second circumferential groove defining an annular chamber between said ring and said holder, a wick disposed in said chamber, the ends of said wick extending from said annular chamber into said reservoir.

2. A spinning ring assembly comprising a ring holder including an oil reservoir and having a body portion with an annular wall defining a circular opening, said Wall being provided with vertically extending upper and lower cylindrical flanges, the inner surfaces of said flanges being flush with and functioning as continuations of the inner surface of said wall, a traveler-guiding spinning ring of rigid, oil transmitting porous material positioned in said circular opening in coaxial relation with said holder, said ring having a first peripheral groove in. which said ass-ease r 7 cylindrical flanges of the holder are positioned, said ring having a second peripheral groove, the inner surface of said'wall being in surrounding relation with said second groove, and a wick disposed in said second groove, said wick extending through an opening in said annular wall into said reservoir, the outer surfaces of said flanges being flush with the outer vertical surfaces of said ring.

3. A spinning ring assembly comprising a ring h-older having a cylindrical wall defining a circular opening and ,a coaxial body portion surrounding and supporting said cylindrical wall, an oil reservoir associated with said body portion, said cylindrical wall and said body portion being split longitudinally to form a pair of adjacent opposed spaced faces, a traveler-guiding spinning ring made of rigid, oil transmitting porous material, said ring having a first circumferential groove in its exterior surface whose vertical dimension is slightly larger than the axial length of said cylindrical wall, said ring having a second circumferential groove formed in the base of said first groove, said second groove having a smaller vertical dimension than said first groove, said ring being disposed in said circular opening with said cylindrical wall positioned in said first groove in surrounding and sealing relation with said second groove, a wick comprising one or more units positioned in and running about said second groove, said wick having at least one end extending through an opening in said cylindrical wall and positioned in said reservoir, and clamping means for urging said faces together whereby to maintain said holder in tight engagement with said ring.

4. A spinning ring assembly as defined by claim 3 wherein said second groove is divided circumferentially by a circular rib of such dimension as to be engaged by wick is a single unit and crosses from one part of said groove to the other at said opening. v

6. A spinning ring assembly as set forth in claim 3, said oil reservoir comprising two separate compartments, said second groove divided circumferentially by a circular rib, said wick comprising two units, one of said wick units being in the upper portion of said second groove above. said rib and having its ends in one of said compartments and the other of said wick units being in the lower portion of said second groove below said rib and having its ends in the other'of said compartments whereby oils of different characteristics may be fed to different portions of said ring.

7. A spinning ring assembly comprising a split ring holder with clamping means and including an oil reservoir, said ring holder having a body portion with a circular interior wall, a vertical type spinning ring made of rigid, oil transmitting porous material and of greater vertical dimension than said wall, said ring having a wide shallow circumferential groove in its outer surface adapted to receive therein the circular wall of said holder, the center portion of said groove being cut away to form an oilgroove defined on its sides by said holder wall and the opposed wall of the vertical portion of said ring and'means for continuously supplying oil from said reservoir to the surface of said oil groove.

8; A spinning ring assembly as set forth in claim 7, said oil groove being divided circumferentially by a rib to provide upper and lower oil grooves, saidoil reservoir including two separate compartments to which oil may be supplied individually, said means for continuously supplying oil to said oil groove comprising two separate wicks, one wick in the'upper groove with its ends in one of said compartments and the other wick in the lower groove with its ends in the other of said compartments whereby oils of different characteristics'may be supplied to different parts of said ring. r

9. A spinning ring assembly as set forth in claim '7,

said interior wall of said holder being extended upwardly,

and downwardly by flanges the outer surfaces of which lie substantially flush with the outer vertical surface of said ring. A

' 10. A spinning ring as'semblyas set forth in claim' 9, the upper and lower ends of said oil groove terminating intermediate the upper and lower edges of said flanges and the body of said holder.

11. A spinning ring assembly as set forth in claim 9, said oil groove being divided horizontally by a rib which engages said interior wall intermediate said flanges thereby to support said flanges as said holder isclamped to said ring. a i

12. A spinning ring assembly as set forth in clairn7, said means for supplying oil to said oil groove comprising one or more wicks extending from said oil reservoir to and about said oil groove and engaging the entire vertical surface of said oil groove. a

13 A spinning ring assembly as set forth in claim 7, the horizontal dimension of the vertical portion of said ring that constitutes one side of said oil groove being approximately one third of the horizontal dimension of said ring. 7 I H I 7 14. A spinning ring assembly comprising a ring holder and an oil reservoir, said ring holder having a body portion with a circular interior wall, a vertical type spinning ring made of rigid, oil transmitting porous material and of greater vertical dimension than said wall, saidring having its exterior center portion cut away to' form'an" oil groove defined on its vertical sides by said holder Iwall and the opposed wall of the vertical portion of said ring, said groove divided into upper and lower portions by a circumferential rib, said oil reservoir com! prising two separate compartments each adapted to re ceive oil of different characteristics, and wicks for conveying on from one compartment to the upper-portion of said groove and from the other compartment to the lower portion of said groove, whereby different oils may be supplied to different parts of said ring.

15. A vertical type spinningring of rigid, oil transmitting porous material, said ring having about its ex terior circumference a cylindrical groove lying entirely within the outer wall' of said ring, said groove being deeper than one-half the thickness of said ring and in which an oil carrying wick maybe positioned and two circumferentially extending shoulders on either side of said groove adapted to be engaged by a ring holder, said shoulders being intermediate the bottom of said groove and the outer wall of said ring. r

16. A spinning ring as set forth in claim 15, said groove being divided by a circular rib.

17. A spinning ring as set forth 'in claiml6, said rib being interrupted'at at least one point in iis circumference whereby a wick in that portion of the groove above said rib may cross over to that portion-of the groove below said rib;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

